The Match-UpNorthern Illinois travels to Ypsilanti, Mich., on Tuesday, Jan. 11, for its first Mid-American Conference road game of the season at Eastern Michigan at 6 p.m. CT. The Huskies are 0-1 in the MAC after dropping a tough 75-70 decision this past Saturday at home to Ball State. Tim Toler led the way for NIU against Ball State with a career-best 22 points. Xavier Silas scored 15, Jeremy Landers added 13 and Nate Rucker chipped in 10 points as NIU had four players in double figures for the second-straight home game.

About Eastern MichiganEastern Michigan opened conference play with a 71-48 victory on the road at Toledo, improving the Eagles overall record to 4-10. EMU is led by Brandon Bowdry who is second in the MAC in scoring at 21.2 points per contest. Bowdry also leads the Eagles, and the MAC, in rebounding at 10.4 boards per game. Eastern Michigan is 2-2 at home this season under Charles Ramsey, who is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Eagles.

Against the EaglesNorthern Illinois leads the all-time series against Eastern Michigan 47-29. The two schools met three times last season, each winning on their home floor in the regular season and EMU won the rubber game in Ypsilanti in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The home team has won six-straight in the series dating back to Jan. 16, 2008, when Eastern Michigan won in DeKalb, 65-61. NIU's last victory in Ypsilanti came on Jan. 26, 2006, as the Huskies upended the Eagles 67-55.

Toler Starts 2011 With Career HighsTim Toler has recorded new career bests in both points and rebounds in the first two games of the new year. In NIU's first game of 2011 at Iowa State (Jan. 3), Toler set a new career-high in rebounds, grabbing 10 boards as the Huskies pushed the Cyclones down to the wire. He then registered a new career-high with 22 points in the conference opener against Ball State (Jan. 8). Toler connected on 4-of-6 three-pointers against the Cardinals, he had made six threes in the first 12 games of the season combined.

Balancing Act NIU has started to find more balance offensively in the past three games. In two of those three contests, four Huskies have reached double figures in scoring. It happened for the first time this season against Utah Valley (Dec. 31) and again in the conference opener against Ball State (Jan. 8). In addition, against the Cardinals four different Huskies, Jeremy Lander, Nate Rucker, Xavier Silas and Tim Toler, each recorded three assists.

Career Days Cap 2010Jeremy Landers and Bryan Hall each scored career highs in NIU's 86-76 New Year's Eve victory over Utah Valley. Landers scored 17 points, bettering his previous best of 14 set earlier this season at DePaul (Dec. 2) and Hall had 13 points to top his previous best of 10 against Boise State (Nov. 29) this season.

A Tough RoadNIU's last four opponents on the road, Temple, Southern Illinois, Missouri and Iowa State, have a combined home record of 32-4.

Landers Coming on OffensivelyJeremy Landers has seen an explosion in his offensive production over the last eight games. Through the first five games of the season, Landers was averaging 2.6 points per contest. In the six games beginning at DePaul on Dec. 2, Landers is averaging 10.3 points per game, increasing his season scoring average to 7.3 points per game, third-best on the team. Landers has scored in double figures five times in the last eight games, remarkable considering he had just four double-digit scoring games in his first 83 career games played.

Charity Stripe TurnaroundA year ago, Northern Illinois shot just 64.6 percent from the free throw line as eight of NIU's 12 players with more than two attempts on the season hit less than 60 percent from the line. The Huskies ranked 290th in the country and 11th in the MAC in free throw percentage, despite Xavier Silas' 81.1 percent mark. So far in 2010-11, the Huskies have turned that performance around, ranking first in the MAC, and 42nd nationally, shooting 72.6 percent as a team (215-of-296). Silas' 90.3 percent leads the MAC and is 20th in the nation.

Silas Smashes Records vs. UICXavier Silas scored 40 points to lead NIU to an 80-78 victory over Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 14. Silas' 40 points set a new NIU Convocation Center scoring record, the record was previously 35 by Buffalo's Andy Robinson on Feb. 5, 2008. NIU's previous best at the Convocation Center was 32 by Darion Anderson against Chicago State on Dec. 6, 2008.

Silas also scored 28 points in the second half of the contest, tying the NIU single-half record set by Larry Wyllie in the second half at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 15, 1958.

He also tied the NIU school records for free throws made (22) and attempted (24) in a game. Both of those marks were set by Willie Hanson against Central Michigan on Feb. 26, 1966.

The 40-Point ClubWith his 40 points against UIC, Xavier Silas became one of just 11 players in the nation to score 40 points in a game this season. Mike James of Lamar has the highest scoring game this year, 52 points against Division III Louisiana College. The second- and third-highest scoring games of the year came in a four overtime game between Ohio and St. Bonaventure. Of the 40-point games in the nation just seven, including Silas', came in a non-overtime game against a Division I opponent.

Silas Starts StrongAfter finishing the 2009-10 campaign as the MAC's No. 2 scorer with 19.7 points per game, Northern Illinois senior Xavier Silas is scoring at an even faster pace this season. The Texas native is averaging 23.3 points per game, sixth in the nation and tops in the Mid-American Conference. Silas scored a career-high 40 points against Illinois-Chicago, recording NIU's first 40-plus point game since Paul Dawkins netted 47 at Western Michigan on Feb. 28, 1979. In his Huskie career, Silas has scored in double figures 33 times in 38 games played. He scored 493 points in 2009-10 despite missing five games due to a hand injury suffered in the season opener and has 303 points already this season.

On TargetSilas' scoring increase has not come with more shots, but through hitting a higher percentage of his shots. So far in the early-going, Silas has made 46.3 percent of his field goals overall, while his three-point shooting is not far off that at a 39.3 percent clip. Those percentages are far ahead of his 38.3 and 32.1 percent marks for field goals and three-pointers made, respectively, a year ago. The Huskie records for single season percentages are 58.9 (overall) and 48.9 (threes).

MAC HonorsXavier Silas has gathered three Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors already this season. Silas scored 56 points in the Huskies' games against Bradley and Cardinal Stritch Nov. 16 and 21 to earn the initial award. Silas scored a career-high 34 points in just 24 minutes of action versus Cardinal Stritch as he made 11-of-17 field goals overall and six-of-nine shots from three-point range. The Austin, Texas native scored 22 points in just 25 minutes in the Huskies' 66-63 loss at Bradley while hitting seven of his 11 field goal attempts and all six of his free throws. He added six rebounds in that game and totaled 10 for the week. In the two games, Silas shot 64.3 percent from the field (18-of-28) and 57.1 percent from three-point range (57.1 percent).

In NIU's lone game during the week of Nov. 22-28, Silas tied his career-high for the second straight game to garner the honor again in an 86-80 win at Maryland Eastern Shore Nov. 24. While scoring 34 points, he added a season-high three assists and tied a season-best with six rebounds. Silas' points came on 12-of-16 shooting as he established a new career high for field goals made in a game and went 4-for-5 on three-pointers.

Silas garnered his third honor of the season on Dec. 20, after averaging 33.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists against Illinois-Chicago and Temple. He scored 40 points to lead the Huskies to a victory over the Flames and added a game-high 27 points against the Owls. Silas also grabbed six rebounds in each contest and tied a career-high with five assists at Temple.

Hall Lends a HandJunior Bryan Hall has cemented his spot as the Huskies' starting point guard with steady ball-handling. Hall is averaging 2.62 assists per game, 12th-best in the Mid-American Conference. After finishing the 2009-10 season with 33 turnovers and 40 assists, Hall leads NIU with 34 assists already this season. He had five assists without a turnover versus Cardinal Stritch and recorded a career-high seven assists versus just one turnover at Maryland Eastern Shore.

Silas a Senior CLASS CandidateXavier Silas has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's basketball. The award honors seniors playing Division I basketball who have demonstrated high achievement in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition throughout their collegiate careers.

Quarterback Grady Joins RosterRedshirt junior DeMarcus Grady, a quarterback on the NIU football team, joined the Huskie basketball roster on Monday, Dec.20, after returning from the Humanitarian Bowl. Grady, who started the football season opener at Iowa State, has not played basketball since high school when he was an all-state honorable mention player as a senior. Grady helped the NIU football team win a school-record 11 games this season.

Newest HuskiesNorthern Illinois signed a pair of players for 2011-12 on Nov. 10. Zach Miller, a 5-9 guard from Glenbard East High School in Chicago, and DeAndre Barnette, a 6-4 wing from Liberty Tech in Jackson, Tenn., inked with the Huskies following successful junior seasons at their respective schools and equally as impressive summers. Miller helped lead the Rams to the Class 4A sectional final as a junior as he averaged 14.1 points, 3.1 steals and 7.2 assists per game. He was the DuPage Valley Conference Player of the Year. Barnette led Liberty Tech to the Tennessee Class 2A title game and was named to the all-tournament team at the state tourney.

Streak StoppedXavier Silas started the season a perfect 28-of-28 from the free throw line before recording his first miss at Maryland Eastern Shore. Silas made 42 straight free throws dating back to last year's penultimate game versus Toledo (March 4, 2010) before missing three of his last five free throws versus UMES. Silas' made his last nine free throws versus Toledo last year, beginning with 31 seconds left in the first half. He then hit all five of his tries in the MAC Tournament first-round game at Eastern Michigan. This year, he went 12-of-12 from the line versus Northwestern and hit all six of his tries at Bradley and versus Stritch, then made his first four free throws in Maryland. Since missing his last attempt, Silas went 4-for-4 against Boise State. The Northern Illinois record for consecutive free throws made in a season is 33 (by Todd Peterson in 2005-06); there is no record for consecutive free throws made in a career.

Challenging SlateNorthern Illinois will face six opponents that played in the 2010 postseason with games against NCAA Tournament participants Temple (Dec. 18), Missouri (Dec. 27) and Ohio (Feb. 5) along with National Invitation Tournament (NIT) teams Kent State (Feb. 12) and Northwestern. Akron earned a trip to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) last year.

Looking AheadNIU will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 15, as the Huskies return to DeKalb to host Toledo at the NIU Convocation Center. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 3:30 p.m., and is part of a doubleheader with the NIU women who will face Western Michigan at 1 p.m.